


l'appel du vide

by monsterleadmehome



Series: Smutty Reylo Oneshots [26]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Creepy, Curses, F/M, Ghost Sex, Haunting, Implied Finn/Rose/Poe, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Sad with a Happy Ending, Self-Sacrifice, Suicide, Urban Legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-13 10:40:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsterleadmehome/pseuds/monsterleadmehome
Summary: They say a ghost haunts Sidious Path, the hiking trail in Imperial Park. Every so often, this spirit will lead unsuspecting hikers to jump off the treacherous cliff to their doom. It's just an urban legend... or is it?Rey goes camping with her friends and discovers the mysterious specter. But resisting the curse may prove to be harder than she expected.





	l'appel du vide

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween, friends! This is a sad and creepy story that was inspired by the Bridgewater Triangle [episode](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6A4ucAfgc9dBxSBhN6kvGT?si=NUgS_xOfTiyFDCtuFCDNpQ) of And That's Why We Drink (one of my favorite podcasts). It really was like one line that sparked this idea, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it.
> 
> Please mind the tags as this story deals with some heavy themes, but I promise there's a happy ending for our OTP. Big thanks to obsessivepropulsive for the beta!

The sun was setting and soon the mountainside would be covered in darkness. Rey knew better than to be up here alone, even as she edged closer to the cliff overlooking the densely forested valley below. So many people had died here. And yet…

She found herself unable to resist the pull to the light—the delicate circle that shone on the patch of rocky dirt in the middle of the clearing. All she knew was that she was meant to be here tonight.

She had escaped the safe campground at the base of the mountain to hike up here by herself. No doubt, Finn, Poe, and Rose were all drunk on that bottle of Jim Beam that Poe had brought, and they were burning their fingertips roasting s’mores. She should be scalding her tongue on melted marshmallows, too, but somehow she knew there were answers up here.

**18 Hours Earlier:**

“They call it Sidious Path,” Poe explained, his eyes wide in the glow of the firelight. “Campers, hikers, and other wayward passersby are often lured to the cliffside by the spirits and then jump to their death.”

Rose gasped and Finn started shaking his head. “Bullshit, man. I don’t believe you.”

Poe smirked. “I thought you’d say that.” He pulled out his phone. “The evidence is right here.” He shoved it in Finn’s face, who took the phone and scrolled down as his eyes widened.

Rey, however, just sat in silence, sipping on her spiked hot chocolate. She knew the legend was true—or at least she remembered ten years ago when that boy from town had gone missing. They found his body a week later, seemingly having jumped from the cliff and breaking on the trees below. It was widely televised, as his mother had been the town’s mayor at the time.

He was so handsome, too, she had thought as they displayed his picture on TV—a pale complexion with an alluring constellation of moles across his face and the saddest brown eyes she’d ever seen.

Rose took the phone from Finn and scrolled through. “Why did you want to go camping here?”

Poe shrugged. “It’s almost Halloween. I thought it would be fitting and creepy.” He wasn’t alone. There were other campers scattered about the grounds. Imperial Park was a popular destination, but very few people hiked Sidious Path anymore after the steady stream of suicides over the past forty years.

Rose shuddered and handed his phone back, pulling her blanket more tightly around herself. Finn rubbed her back reassuringly. Rey had noticed there was a weird tension between her three friends—she suspected both Poe and Rose were interested in Finn, but he seemingly hadn’t noticed yet.

“Anyway,” Poe continued, “The legend goes that the week before they were supposed to get married, this lady’s fiance got lost in the woods up there. He was found dead later and she was so distraught she flung herself off the cliff to her death. She’s said to haunt the area now, convincing unsuspecting hikers to jump to their doom and join her.”

“I heard it’s a man,” Rey said, causing everyone’s heads to turn to her. She had her head resting on her knees, which were pulled up so she could wrap her arms around them. “The ghost, I mean. The one who haunts Sidious Path.”

“Yeah, I mean, could be…” Poe conceded. “Not like ghosts are real, anyway.”

Rose wrinkled her nose. “Well,  _ something  _ is making those people jump, right?”

Finn nodded. “It is weird. There’s been at least five deaths a year for the past forty years.”

“And there’s more before that,” Rey added. “It just wasn’t as many and it was more sporadic, so people didn’t really notice. But people have been going missing in the woods or jumping from that cliff for as long as the park’s been in service.”

Poe gave her a look.

“What? I’m interested in the paranormal. I’ve done some research.”

“Huh,” Finn said, clearly bemused.

Rose changed the subject by pulling out the alcohol. “Anyone’s drink need topping off?”

* * *

It was fortuitous that Poe had picked this park to go camping in. Rey had been wanting to investigate Sidious Path for ages, but was always a little bit too scared. Especially after the most recent death, which was only two months ago. But usually they were pretty spread out. She figured now might be the best time. 

The shadows took on menacing forms as she had hiked up the path, the waning light dispersing through the trees. She swore she heard whispers on the wind. Then it got impossibly silent as the cliffside came into view. She had read reports of people who had made the trek and lived to tell the tale—they all had said they heard a voice telling them to “jump or leave.”

She stayed just on the edge of the clearing, trying to decide if it was worth the risk to wander too close to the steep dropoff to the valley below. As she looked up again, the darkness had settled and the moon was now casting its eerie glow onto the ground. She shivered and shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets.

She moved forward slowly.

Within ten feet of the cliff face, Rey could start to see her breath. Somehow it was colder here. A breeze whipped at her hair and then she heard it, a voice low like a man’s, rich and deep. “Leave now,” it cautioned.

She turned around to see who was there. Of course, there was no one. She shook her head and took another step forward. “Please leave,” the voice urged again.

“Who’s there?” she ventured, the strength of her voice belying how frightened she felt.

This time the voice felt alarmingly close to her ear as it whispered, “Leave  _ now. _ ” As soon as she heard the words, she felt a forceful shove to her chest and fell back, farther from the edge, directly onto her ass. 

Whatever was up here wasn’t playing around, and it wasn’t in a hurry for Rey to join it. She scrambled to her feet, wiped the dust off her jeans, and sprinted back down the path. 

* * *

The next day, as she hiked with her friends on one of the more innocuous paths, Rey kept thinking about the voice. Rather,  _ his  _ voice—it was definitely a man. He hadn’t felt threatening and hadn’t tried to persuade her to jump. She had expected to maybe see some phantasmagorical vision, urging her to fall to the valley and end it all. Not a somewhat protective force cautioning her from getting too close to the edge. It only served to pique her curiosity further. 

They stopped near the bank of the stream that ran through Imperial Park to eat lunch. She was polishing off her second peanut butter and jelly sandwich when she thought she saw something moving in the trees overhead. 

“You guys see that?” Rey asked, pointing to the trees. 

“What?” Poe asked. 

It had been a little flash of white, nothing more. Maybe she was going crazy. “Nothing. Probably just a bird.”

“Aw, I would’ve liked to see it.” Rose looked around, slightly disappointed. She was an avid animal lover. 

Tonight was their last night camping. And for some reason, Rey couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to go back up to the cliff. Maybe she had escaped a brush with death, unlike so many others, but the desire to find out what was inhabiting those ancient rocks was far stronger than any latent fear of dying. 

“Where did you run off to last night, by the way?” Finn asked as they walked back to camp. “We were worried about you.”

“Oh I had to pee and got lost. Walked in circles for about an hour. I think I need to lay off the spiked hot chocolate tonight.”

Finn laughed. 

Rey loved her friends. They were her family, really, having never had one of her own. She could barely remember the fuzzy outline of her parents, who’d brought her to the states as a child, only to die, abandoning her and setting her adrift in the foster care system. 

The state university where she met Finn, Poe, and Rose was the first time she ever felt like she had been a part of something. But lately, she was starting to feel like a fourth wheel, which normally would be fine, but not for a tricycle. It was like the three of them had developed their own language and she hadn’t yet learned it. 

In fact, this was the first time they had hung out in weeks. After graduation, they all decided to stay in the city, even sharing an apartment for a bit. But Rey started doing well at her mechanic job and wound up getting her a studio flat by herself. She had always treasured her own space, and it was time.

They headed to the entrance of the park before sundown to partake in the free barbecue for dinner. Nothing made Rey happier than a paper plate piled high with greasy food—especially if it was free. She had ribs, chicken, mac n’ cheese, and potato salad loaded onto her plate when she spotted the chocolate chip cookies. Grabbing two, she set them carefully atop the rest of the food, balancing everything with expert precision as she made her way back to her group. 

Finn handed her a beer as she sat down at the picnic table, and they all chatted about silly little nothings. She hated small talk with strangers, but found she could ramble on about anything with her friends. She shoveled another bite of potato salad into her mouth and Rose regaled them with a tale from her work at the animal clinic.

As the night went on, Rey almost forgot about stealing away to hike back up the trail. Then as they sat around the campfire, indulging in more boozy hot chocolate and creepy stories, she felt a prickle on the back of her neck. The moon was casting on ominous glow on the hillside above, and she knew what she had to do.

“Gotta pee,” she announced rather loudly.

Poe, who was currently trying to sprawl across both Finn’s and Rose’s laps waved her off. “Don’t get lost this time!”

Rey sprinted for the trail, not wanting to be gone longer than necessary and arouse suspicion. Though, she was also slightly worried about what kind of debauchery she might return to. 

It was even colder tonight, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she began the incline towards the cliff. The chill was almost preternatural and seemed to penetrate her thick jacket. She ran regularly and had defined muscles from her job, but the booze and the food were weighing her down tonight. By the time she saw the clearing and the edge of the cliff, she was huffing and puffing.

Unlike the previous night, she didn’t hesitate this time, walking right up to the edge. In her buzzed state, she even peered over to see how far down the drop was. Suddenly, she could sense a presence behind her. She wasn’t alone.

“Why did you come back? I told you to leave.” It was the same voice as before, only much louder and closer—she could feel his breath on her neck.

Rey turned around slowly and gasped when she saw the man standing perilously close to her. He was tall, towering over her, with ghostly pale skin and the smattering of moles she remembered still from all those years ago. “You’re him—the mayor’s son.”

Shock registered across his features. He was completely corporeal, not translucent, like she might expect a specter to be. “You can see me?”

“Yes.” She started to wonder if she’d be able to touch him, too. His dark hair blew in the breeze—it looked so soft. 

“Look, I don’t know how you can see me. No one ever does. But anyone who stays here too long winds up dying. So you should leave.” He made a motion with his mouth that looked like he was biting back more words. His lips were full and red.

“Wh-what’s your name?” she stammered, not wanting to lose sight of him just yet.

“Ben.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground. It was so surreal. He certainly didn’t look dead.

She wasn’t sure what made her do it, but she reached out her hand and touched his arm—it was warm, not cold like she was expecting from someone who had been dead for nearly ten years. “I’m Rey.”

His gaze zipped up to hers, widening. “I can  _ feel _ you.” Instantly, his eyes were glistening. “I haven’t been able to feel anything in so long.”

“What happened to you, Ben?”

“I was camping with my parents and uncle, kind of a family retreat we did once a year—I hated it.” He huffed a humorless laugh. “I went off by myself and took the path, not even knowing about the legend. There was a spirit here, called himself Snoke. I don’t know how he did it, but—he got inside my head.” He started to cry.

Rey started to rub both of his arms, amazed at the way she could feel his soft skin like he were real—like he wasn’t little more than energy and memory. “What next?”

Ben sniffed. “He told me if I just jumped, I’d never be alone again. That the feeling I’d always had of being out of place would go away. Foolishly, I believed him.”

Rey was crying now, too. She could feel the tears chill on her cheek. Her breath hitched as Ben wiped them away with his hands. She closed her eyes. “And where is Snoke now?”

“I don’t know. I never saw him again. I’ve been trying to get people to join me for years, it’s like a compulsion—I think it might be a curse. Only one ghost can inhabit this path and is doomed to a lonely eternity of trying to get others to join him, only to realize that no one can.”

“So why didn’t you tell me to jump?” Her eyes met his, seeing a tortured compassion there.

“I saw you last night and thought you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. And I thought what a waste it would be if you died—something would likely snatch you away before I could even reveal myself.”

And then Rey did something she never dreamed she’d do. She pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. It was as if something magical happened—she imagined a glowing cord winding its way around them as they embraced and tightening around them, binding them together. His arms wrapped enveloped her and she’d never felt so alive. Her hands tangled in his hair and discovered it  _ was _ extremely soft. When she finally pulled back, she groaned. “This is so unfair.”

He smirked. “Tell me about it.” Then his face turned serious. “Now go, Rey. And never come back. I’ve never wanted someone to join me more, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

She sighed. “I’m going to figure out how to break you free of this cycle. People can’t keep dying, Ben.”

He swallowed. “I know. I fight it so hard, you don’t underst—”

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” She laid her head on his wide chest and took a deep breath. He smelled like the forest, rich and earthy. “I’ll come back, and we’ll figure something out.”

He nodded, his nose nuzzling her hair. “It feels so good to be held.”

Rey squeezed him tighter. “I know what you mean.”

* * *

By the time she made her way back to the camp, everyone was passed out in their sleeping bags. Well, for the most part; they overlapped a bit. Finn’s head was on Rose’s chest but Poe was clutching his hand. Shaking her head, Rey climbed inside her own sleeping bag and drifted off, dreaming about Ben.

Over the next few days, Rey did all the research she could. She even visited an occultist in town to ask for advice. Maz sold her a small book of spells that could come in handy, though Rey suspected the old woman was mostly scamming her.

She even took a trip to the last address on file for the Solo family. The house was empty, a dilapidated “for sale” sign still in the yard. Of course his parents had left—why would they want to stay in a place that held such painful memories? She sank to her knees in the damp grass and cried for someone she never got to know in life, someone who was still very much trapped, even in death. 

She swore then if it was the last thing she did, she’d help Ben Solo.

The following weekend, she returned to the mountain during the afternoon, hiking all the way to the top. She gazed longingly towards the cliff when she passed it—it no longer scared her. She knew whose spirit lingered there. She had read everything she could find about him. 

His mother was a respected politician, his father a war hero, and he seemed to take living in their respective shadows seriously. Top of his class all the way through college, wrote for the university newspaper, was on track to a successful job in the press—until he ended it all in Imperial Park one October day. His social media accounts told the story of a sullen boy with few friends. He listened to emo music, wrote morbid poetry, and hardly ever dressed in anything but black. It was easy to believe he’d take his own life.

Though Rey knew there was more to the story.

She looked through all the lore on Sidious Path, went through all the death records, but couldn’t find anything about anyone named Snoke. So she found herself back at Imperial Park, retracing her steps and forging ahead into uncharted territory. The peak of the mountain was desolate. It looked like no one had been up here in years. She had to contend with overgrowth and was glad for her muscular arms as she moved branches out of her way.

When she had finished pushing through, Rey’s mouth opened in surprise. There was a cave up here. Cobwebs were strung across the front of it and a musty odor emanated from its depths. She pulled the flashlight from her pocket and illuminated the dark interior, stepping inside. Crude carvings littered the walls—symbols and characters she didn’t recognize.

She couldn’t see the end, but she knew it didn’t go on forever. She walked until the back wall came into view. The stone was somehow iridescent in the glow from her handheld light. She thought she could see shadows rippling across it, but that didn’t make sense—did it?

“You think you can save him,” a sinister voice growled.

Rey whipped around, but there was no one else in the cave with her, just the strange etchings and a sense of foreboding. If she squinted hard enough at the back wall, she could almost make out her own reflection. There was a presence here, though it didn’t feel entirely human. “Are you Snoke?” she whispered into the darkness.

“I have been called many things. Who do you think they named this path after?”

Sidious. She thought it was a play on the word insidious, but maybe there was more to that story. “Why do you keep Ben trapped?”

“Ben Solo has trapped himself,” the voice seemed to sneer. “And if it wasn’t him, it would be someone else.”

“Why?”

“Those are the rules.”

Rey couldn’t believe she was arguing with an unseen force inside a mysterious cave, but to be fair, it was a very unreasonable entity. “Rules were made to be broken.”

Sidious, or Snoke—whatever it was—filled the cavern with malevolent laughter. “If you can figure out how to break the curse, be my guest.”

She turned around and ran.  _ Oh I will, you piece of shit. _

She dashed through the trees and skidded to a halt, just short of flying off the edge of the mountain peak. She stopped and stared at the valley below, experiencing a strange sense of vertigo. This feeling wasn’t new to Rey. She had read about the call of the void, how the sensation to fling yourself off great heights could actually be a reflection of the inner psyche’s appreciation for the fragility of life—or something like that.

Yet, here, on this ground, many people had answered that call.

She shook her head and continued down the trail, pausing at Ben’s cliff. She walked to the edge and sat down, dangling her legs over the edge. The sun would be setting soon. She would wait.

“I thought I told you not to come back.” He was suddenly sitting beside her and greedily reached out to take her hand.

She gasped as he still felt so real, their fingers intertwining as if they’d always belonged together. “Ben,” she whispered, a tear betraying her and falling down her cheek.

“Rey,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against her hairline. “Why did you come back?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“No one can help me.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Well, I guess no one’s ever seen me before, either. I guess if someone  _ could, _ it would be you.”

She cupped his face in her hands. “I believe in you, Ben Solo. I will free you from this curse if it’s the last thing I do.” 

She kissed him then, long and sweet, surprised when his tongue pushed inside her mouth. It was warm, wet, and tasted like mint. As soon as she pulled away, she got up and left, not wanting him to see her cry harder than she already was. She almost thought she heard him say, “It just might be” in a melancholy voice.

* * *

“Maz, I need some more help.”

“I’m surprised to see you back, dear. I thought you would’ve jumped by now.” The eccentric little woman raced around her shop at a frenetic pace, adjusting items here and there as she went.

“Excuse me?” Rey exclaimed. 

“Oh, sorry. I have been burdened with the Sight. You’ve been frequenting Sidious Path, yes?”

Rey shivered. “How did you know that?”

Maz adjusted the giant coke bottle glasses on her rather large head. “I told you—the Sight.” She walked over to a shelf and picked out a book, handing it to Rey. “The belonging you seek is not behind you...it is ahead.”

“You know about my… _ spirit _ problems then?”

“I know that your aura is fucked all to hell, and that the only way to break your curse is with an act of true love.”

“Oh.” She turned the book over in her hand. “Curse-Breaking for Dummies,” she read aloud. “This is really a thing?”

“You’re looking at it, aren’t you?”

Rey rolled her eyes and shelled out the $21.95 for the book.

She brought the book home and read many unhelpful things about curses. A lot of it sounded like new age mumbo jumbo, but a section did stick out to her. It was about what defined an act of true love. The two most powerful instances—sexual union and personal sacrifice—loomed heavy over her.

Rey suspected that part of why Ben Solo’s spirit was so strong right now is because it was coming close to the tenth anniversary of his death. It was also likely that if she didn’t find a way to break his curse, someone else would be led to their death on Sidious Path. As the days passed, she started to grow more desperate.

She was in love with a ghost.

She constantly listened to music he liked. She read all his old articles that were still online. She had a folder on her phone with pictures of him. Since the camping trip, she hadn’t heard from her Poe, Finn, or Rose—maybe they had finally taken the plunge and now were spending all their free time having threesomes.

It was just as well, anyway. Rey figured it would be harder for them to miss her if they were preoccupied.

* * *

It was a full moon, and three days before the anniversary of Ben Solo’s death. Rey hiked up Sidious Path, not even needing a flashlight between her familiarity with the terrain and the silvery moonlight that shone down.

The trees cast eerie shadows on the trail, but she hardly noticed. She felt the telltale goosebumps on her skin as she grew closer to the cliff. When she arrived, Ben was waiting. He stood with his arms crossed, in the same plaid shirt and jeans that he always had on.

“Go home, Rey.”

“That’s the thing, Ben.” She marched right up to him. “I’ve never had a home—not really. I’ve never felt like I belonged  _ anywhere _ …until I met you.”

His dark eyebrows furrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I have a plan. And while I think you’ll very much enjoy the first part, you’re not going to like the second part.”

“What’s the second part?”

“We’ll worry about that later.”

She took the backpack off her shoulder and pulled out a blanket, setting it down on the dirt clearing. Then she started unbuttoning her shirt.

“Rey—”

“Shhh,” she shushed him right before pulling his face down to hers. 

The kiss was hot and frantic, a clashing of teeth and tongues as she struggled to get him to join her down on the blanket. When he finally relented and moved his large, nimble fingers to her buttons, he said, “How are we—I don’t know how this is possible. I’m not real.”

“None of this should be possible, Ben. But this?” she put her hand on his chest, “What’s in here? That is the  _ only  _ thing that’s real. Your body might be gone, but your spirit—who you are—is not.” 

She helped him finish devesting her of her shirt. It was cold, but she forgot all about that as his hot hands explored her naked torso. When he cupped her breasts, she inhaled sharply. He quickly covered her open mouth with his, continuing to explore her everywhere. 

“Rey, you’re perfect. I never felt like this even when I was—” 

She cut him off with another kiss and started taking off his shirt. “No more talking.”

He nodded and helped her undress him. Rey keened with pleasure when she was finally able to explore the ample expanse of Ben’s chest with her hands. He was so sculpted, so firm and warm and beautiful—surely he couldn’t have been this breathtaking in life?

Her fingers fumbled with his belt buckle as he sucked one of her breasts into his mouth.  _ God, his mouth is perfect. _ “Ben,” she moaned.

He clearly wasn’t holding back now as he swiftly peeled off her jeans and underwear. He briefly rose off of her to shuck his own pants then returned to her bodily warmth, kissing her abdomen and running his fingers through her folds.

Rey moaned when he touched her, the sensation setting all her nerves alight.

“Fuck, I can feel how wet you are. It’s amazing.” He circled her clit several times before pumping her with one finger. 

Rey arched up off the blanket. “Don’t stop.”

He added a second, taking care to let him thumb swirl around her clit while he fucked her with his fingers. “Let me know when you’re close, Rey. Wanna feel you come on my cock.”

He worked her over for another minute or two before she grabbed his wrist. “I’m close.”

Ben withdrew his fingers and sucked them clean. “You taste good, too.” 

The sound of his groan brought her even closer to the edge, but then her eyes widened as she looked below his waist. “Dear lord, Ben. You’re huge.” Intellectually, she had known this. He towered over her and his hands were so big, but—this was still a surprise.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” She giggled. “Just fuck me with that massive cock.”

He smiled for perhaps the first time since she’d met him, and she nearly came from how beautiful he looked, the moonlight on his creamy shoulders, his dark hair now damp with sweat. “Yes, ma’am.”

He pushed in slowly, Rey marveling the whole time about how full she felt and how easily she stretched to accommodate him—like they had been made for each other. She sighed as he inched in the rest of the way and disappeared inside her.

Ben kissed her again as he started to move, a slow roll of his hips against hers. Her breath came in pleasured shudders, gripping his arms as the heat spread up her spine. With every push and pull, every slide of his shaft inside of her, she drifted closer and closer to the edge. 

He smiled again—a beatific, nearly saintlike thing—and brought a hand down to push against her clit. The pressure pushed Rey past the brink and her scream echoed off the rocky cliffside as she came, waves of pleasure wracking her body. Ben followed close behind her and she felt a rush of warmth deep inside her, still not sure how any of this was possible.

They locked eyes and she smiled at him, laughter bubbling up inside her.

“You’re right. I did like that,” he crooned before kissing her again soundly.

They stayed tangled up in each other for what could’ve been hours, her stroking his hair and him peppering her face and neck with kisses. At long last he pulled out of her and drew her close to his chest. 

“I know none of this makes sense, but… I love you, Rey.”

She placed a kiss over his heart. “I love you, too.”

“Well, isn’t this romantic,” the sinister voice from the cave spoke.

Ben and Rey shot up, grabbing their discarded clothes and quickly dressing. 

The misty apparition laughed, manifesting into a semi-translucent tall figure in a hood. “I have seen plenty of naked people in my day. Don’t cover up on my account.”

“Snoke?” Ben said incredulously.

“I was Snoke when you needed me to be Snoke. I’ve been many different things for many different people.” 

As he hovered towards them, they slowly backed up, until they were at the edge of the cliff.

“Young Rey, I suppose you think you’re smart. Think you’ve found a way to beat me.”

But Rey wasn’t listening anymore. She knew what had to come next. The way to end it all. The very fact that Sidious was here meant she was on the right path. She looked up at Ben, and whispered, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

She wrapped her arms tightly around him and leaned sideways just enough. 

The fall was quick and painless, an echoing, “Noooo!” fading on the wind.

* * *

When Rey awoke, she was in Ben’s arms. Her lifeless body was several yards from them, but it didn’t freak her out as much as she thought it would. 

“Rey,” he spoke. “Why?”

“I told you. It’s because I love you.”

He smoothed her hair back and kissed her breathless. “I’ve never been down here to the valley before.”

“No?”

He shook his head. “I was always just confined to the cliff. I was made to think if I got someone to join me, I’d be able to leave. But it never worked before.”

They got up together and dusted themselves off. “Well, where to now?”

Ben held his hand out in front of them as if he expected there to be an unseen barrier. When there wasn’t, he took Rey’s hand and walked forward. “Anywhere we want.”

* * *

Rey Johnson was the last official death on Sidious Path. As winter rolled into spring, more and more people frequented the hiking trail, finding it less treacherous than expected. The park bloomed with new life, and many citizens called for the route to be renamed. People even started seeing two ghosts late at night, walking the trails in Imperial Park, holding hands. After many campers and tourists confirmed the romantic apparitions, the path was redubbed Lover’s Lane in honor of the spirits.


End file.
